Job description
Job summary At Navy Command, we lead, support, and sustain the Royal Navy across every theatre of operations. We coordinate the people, platforms, and missions that keep the Fleet ready for todays challenges and tomorrows opportunities. Together, we uphold centuries of naval tradition while driving innovation that ensures the Royal Navys readiness to protect our nation and secure our future.
As the authority for the Royal Navys nuclear submarine capability, the Submarine Directorate oversees one of the most complex and critical elements of UK defence. Covering everything from in - service management to long - term fleet modernisation, the directorate ensures the Submarine Flotilla remains safe, reliable, and ready to meet national security requirements.
This position is a Reserved Post within the Civil Service, for which only sole UK nationals are eligible. Under the Civil Service Nationality Rules, UK nationals include British citizens, British subjects with the right of abode in the United Kingdom, and British Overseas Territories citizens.
This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.
Job descriptionAre you the kind of person who can keep a busy senior leader one step ahead, turn diary chaos into calm, and still greet the unexpected with a smile? This is a brilliant opportunity to sit at the heart of the Submarines Directorate, supporting senior leaders in a fast-paced, high-profile environment where no two days are quite the same. From managing a complex diary and coordinating travel, to working with senior stakeholders across Defence and beyond, youll be the organised, confident and trusted person who helps keep things moving. If you enjoy variety, responsibility and being part of a small, friendly team doing work that really matters, wed love to hear from you.
What you will be doing:
- Diary Management: To be the single point of contact for the management of sernior leaders time, using Microsoft Outlook 365 diary. The Business Support Assistant (BSA) is to respond to meeting requests from multiple stakeholders, organise and schedule meetings required and maintain an up to date diary, responding as required to short notice changes. The BSA is to lead weekly diary meetings and work with senior leaders to ensure maximal efficiency of their time including intelligent sequencing of meetings and allocation of preparation time. They will prioritise commitments. The BSA will proactively deconflict meetings in the diary, taking decisions aligned to business priorities, and ensure alternative arrangements are made where necessary.
- Correspondence: To act as the primary point of contact for all incoming and outgoing correspondence. The BSA will prioritise correspondence and communications with stakeholders to ensure routine engagements and the receipt of any required supporting information for business in a timely manner to allow for preparation. The BSA will ensure that correspondence is distributed to relevant personnel and filed in line with information management best practice.
- Stakeholder Management: Establishing professional relationships with a range of customers and stakeholders, prioritised against objectives. Collaborating with these to share information, resources and support. The BSA will support the team in maintaining stakeholder information and contacts, and provide day to day interaction with stakeholders offices/staff.
- Travel: To arrange duty domestic and international travel requirementsusing the HRG booking system and local budget control procedures.
- Meet and greet: Meet and greet visitors and escort them to and from the meeting room / building as required. Ensure visitors are booked in at reception and arrange building passes as appropriate.
- Meeting and Conference rooms: The BSA will arrange the booking, rearrangement and cancellation of meeting and conference room facilities. They will proactively ensure that meetings rooms are arranged for any meetings that are managed through the senior leaders calendar. They will also liaise with colleagues to ensure that meetings is managed, for example by booking secure eVTC and other meeting rooms as needed.
Person specificationTo be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:
- Previous experience in administrative roles
- Strong experience of using Microsoft 360
- Able to build positive, professional and trusting working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders
- The ability to deal with multiple conflicting priorities
Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
BenefitsAlongside your salary of 30,740, Ministry of Defence contributes 8,905 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
- 25 days paid annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years service
- Market-leading employer pension contribution of 28.97%
- Personal & professional development
- Alternative working patterns for many roles
- Access to a confidential, professional support service
- Discount schemes
- Bicycle / season-ticket loans
- Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave
- Special paid leave to volunteer (up to 6 days a year)
In Navy Command we believe that everyone has the potential to make a difference and youll be supported through your learning journey and your career. This can include working towards membership of a professional body and/or undertaking an apprenticeship as part of your role.
Youll have access to a variety of qualifications pathways ranging from GCSE/A-Level equivalent all the way up to masters degree, depending on your role, your previous skills and your experience. Some qualifications even include on-the-job training which means minimal disruption to your working day but maximum impact.
The post does not offer relocation expenses.
External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.
Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.
Please be advised that theDepartment is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which couldimpacton those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.
Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare.Determineyour eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/ .
The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors,visitorsand other non-MOD personnel. All applicantsseeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place ata number ofDefence Establishments.
MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey We may contact youregardingyour experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provideadditionalinformation to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.
Things you need to knowArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process detailsThis vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
As part of Defence Reform, Navy Command continues to review and evolve its Target Operating Model to support more agile ways of working. In this context, the role and responsibilities of this role may develop over time to reflect changing business priorities and opportunities.
At Sift,you will be assessed against the following;
- Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history and qualification details.
- Candidates will be required to provide a personal statement. This should be a maximum of 500 words that sets out your motivation for applying and shows how your skills and experience meet the essential requirements for the role.
At Interview, you will be assessed against the following success profiles:
And the following Behaviour:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
Further information:
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selectioncriteria.
As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which cameintoeffect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-basedsystem, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet thatcategory,and we will not sponsor a visa.It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who willrequiresponsorship under the points-based system.
Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.
The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.
The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last fiveyears.This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carriedout.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
SecuritySuccessful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window) .
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window) .
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirementsOpen to UK nationals only.
Working for the Civil ServiceThe Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window) .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and InclusionThe Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .
Apply and further informationThis vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants Job contact :
Recruitment team
Further informationPlease ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application.If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint by writing to DBS at the following address: Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, Room 6124, Tomlinson House, Norcross Lane, Blackpool, FY5 3WP. If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address: Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Or by email:
[email protected].
Attachments Navy Candidate Information Guide Opens in new window (pdf, 1513kB) Navy Candidate Attraction Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 7954kB) Candidate Information Opens in new window (docx, 32kB) Defence Internal Brief notice Opens in new window (docx, 43kB)